Ordinary chewing gum contains a generally neutral and essentially tasteless insoluble masticatory gum base which is usually a plasticized rubber or polymer which is softened and has added texturizers, anti-tacking agents and antioxidants, etc. The base is to be chewed rather than eaten in itself and is a vehicle for one or more non-masticatory active ingredients such as flavors, colors and sweeteners. On the other hand, edible chewing gum contains a base which can not only be chewed but can also be eaten and digested in addition to the non-masticatory active ingredients such as flavors and sweeteners.
JP 54044071 A describes an edible chewing gum preparation using a crosslinked gluten composition as base which is obtained from gluten and an edible crosslinking agent such as agar, by crosslinking in presence of water. The base of this edible chewing gum is gluten-based, and a significant disadvantage of gluten is that certain people exhibit an allergic intolerance to gluten. Thus, improvements in these type products are desired.